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Newsweek’s Publishing of Vulgarity Draws Fire

A recent spate of vulgarity in Newsweek could cost the newsmagazine some valuable partners — the public television and radio stations that offer the magazine as a gift in exchange for donations.

Since 1991, subscriptions to Newsweek and other magazines have raised more than $375 million for public broadcasters, who pay sometimes as little as a penny per subscription, according to the Pledge Partner Magazine Premium Program. Newsweek accounts for 90 percent of the money that the program has raised since 1996, when it was first offered, said Zunk Buker, founder of Pledge Partner, which is based in New London, N.H.

But as the content of the magazine has grown more brash in recent months after its merger with The Daily Beast — the blogger and author James McPherson documented a dozen examples of vulgarisms in the Jan. 23 issue — some public television stations have taken note.

Bill Sanford, chief executive of Lakeland Public Television in Bemidji, Minn., told fellow station executives this month via e-mail that a major donor had complained, and that he, too, wanted his station “to offer premiums that reflect our values. Being family-friendly is one of them.” He suggested that Time or U.S. News & World Report might “fit our values better.”

Mr. Buker, who called the issue a “minor firestorm” in passing on the complaints to Newsweek, said three stations had complained.

Stephen Colvin, chief executive of The Newsweek Daily Beast Company, said via e-mail: “We are very proud of our partnership with public broadcasting stations,” adding that January newsstand sales were up 15 percent compared with a year ago, and subscription renewals “are up for the first time in five years.” In a statement e-mailed by a spokesman, Justine Rosenthal, Newsweek’s executive editor, said, “We do not use profanity unless within a quote or in the context of a story and care is taken to ensure it is never used gratuitously.”

“PBS viewers and NPR listeners continue to value Newsweek for its commentary, commitment to journalism and ability to present multiple sides to the story,” Mr. Buker said in an e-mailed statement. He added that “we all look forward to continuing this enormously successful partnership for many years to come.”

A version of this article appears in print on February 13, 2012, on page B7 of the New York edition with the headline: Newsweek’s Publishing Of Vulgarity Draws Fire. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe